A charity which brings Christmas cheer to some 1,500 disadvantaged children every year has been nominated for a Pride of Reading Award.

Reading Family Aid (RFA) could be unwrapping its own present at this year’s glittering award ceremony after being nominated as the 2016 Charity of the Year by Heather Key, from Caversham.

An RFA volunteer for some three years, Ms Key, 42, said: “They are an amazing group of people who bring communities together each Christmas time to collect toys and gifts for those children in the local communities who would not receive anything.

“The overwhelming joy and positivity of the whole charity is awesome, from the van drivers to the volunteers, to the committee. They are extremely hard-working, helping over 1,500 children each Christmas.”

Although not officially set up until 1993, the charity has been putting a smile on the faces of disadvantaged children since the 1950s.

It helps youngsters aged up to 16 who are living with poverty or in a family affected by drug taking, physical abuse, chronic illness or disability. They may be young carers or have a disability or illness themselves. If funds permit, the charity also organises outings for families who couldn't afford to go otherwise.

Ms Key, who works at Interserve, has also nominated the charity’s Ruth Perkins and Sallie Wall as this year’s Community Champions, saying: “Ruth and Sallie work tirelessly all year round collecting toys and raising money for Reading Family Aid. Their passion and selflessness need to be recognised by Reading. They are amazing.

“Lots of local businesses get involved to help with the packing - Interserve, Waitrose, and Sainsbury’s, to name a few - and I find it a very humbling experience, packing for children you do not know but to whom these lovely toys will bring joy on Christmas morning.”

On being told of their Pride of Reading nominations, Ruth Perkins, 61, said on behalf of herself and Sallie Wall: “We are astonished, honoured and excited that our charity has been nominated for these awards.

“We are a very small local charity that relies on a small group of 15 committed volunteers to organise the Toy Project and various outings that we do during the year.

“For the Toy Project, a huge army of helpers also gets involved, and many thousands of people in Reading contribute funds and toys for Christmas, so it is the work of many, many people that makes the work of the charity so successful, not just us two!

“Our motto is to ‘put a smile on the face of a child’ and today you have put a smile on our faces too!”

On what they find most rewarding about their work at RFA, Mrs Perkins said: “Thinking about all those children’s faces on Christmas morning when they open their sack of gifts. Most would have nothing otherwise. How do you tell a five-year- old that once again Father Christmas has forgotten to stop by? It’s heartbreaking just to think about it – that’s what keeps us going.

“We also do outings, and to see the smiles on the children’s (and parents’) faces when the children are on their first theme park ride or seeing a wild animal or dipping their toe in the sea for the first time and the excited chatter on the coach home – that’s rewarding.